Volvo focuses on making Indian roads safer

With offerings such as the XC90 and S90 launched last year, and some new models like the new XC60 slated to be released this year, Volvo could gain a 10% share of India's luxury car market by the year 2020.Prasad Sanyal&Shubhodeep Chakravarty | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | June 05, 2017, 07:33 IST

In 1959 Volvo invented the 3-point seat belts for cars and that set an industry standard that is followed to date. The brand has been synonymous with safety. And it makes safe and sensible cars for safe and sensible people.

The company which turned 90 this year has been selling cars in India for just 10 years. But with German carmakers like Mercedes, BMW and Audi ruling the roost, the Swedish car maker has struggled to find a niche in India's fledgling luxury car market.

"Our cars are known for being safe. It is our core value, what we value the most and if there is anything that we don't compromise on, it is safety," Tom von Bonsdorff, the Managing Director of Volvo Auto India, says. "But to have safe road, you need to develop infrastructure and develop people's mentality. The 3-point safety belt invented by Volvo is still the most important feature. "

"So it is important to understand that you have to belt yourself in the car, you shouldn't sit with your child in the front seat, everyone must be belted and really that's the fundamental of safety. I'm really happy to see that authorities in India are bringing in safety testing much more. From our side, we try and bring in all the safety knowledge that we have and try to educate the general public about the importance of safety."

Surprisingly, in a country with 1.5 lake fatal accidents in a year, safety has failed to make a mark. But with offerings such as the XC90 and S90 launched last year, and some exciting new models like the new XC60 slated to be released this year, von Bonsdorff feels his company could have a 10 per cent share of India's 40,000-cars-a-year luxury car market by the year 2020.

Speaking to timesofindia.com, the Volvo Auto India chief said, "Since the last two years, our growth has been really good and we have been growing in double digit numbers. Looking at the next five years, I really see this as a chance to take off and grow. We are bringing in the right products, we are expanding the sales and service network, we are doing more and more marketing activities and all this would give us a good chance to grow."Volvo has announced plans to assemble its flagship SUV, the XC90, in India.The Swedish auto major plans to have 25 dealers across the country by the end of the year, an over 50 per cent increase in numbers. Recently the company announced plans to assemble its flagship SUV, the XC90, in India.

Refusing to be dragged into specifics of investment and the number of jobs this 'Make in India' initiative will create, Von Bonsdorff says, "The sign of the belief the company has in India as a car market is best shown in the fact that our management decided that this year, we would start assembling our cars locally in India."

In 2016, Volvo sold 1600 cars in India but its largest market is China where it sold 90,930 cars in the same year. Interestingly India doesn't fall in the top-10 markets for the Swedish auto giant but the company remains bullish about its prospects here.

In fact, segment leaders like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp have reported de-growth of 34.3 per cent, 45 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively giving a clear indication of a prolonged slowdown in the sector.